Program secures funding for 25th home post-wildfire

Glenna Ogle holds the keys to her new home during the house dedication ceremony for Glenna Ogle, who lost her home during the November 28 wildfires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee on Friday, July 28, 2017. The home is the first of 25 homes to be built for fire victims by Appalachia Service Project.(Photo: Calvin Mattheis, Knoxville News Sentinel)Buy Photo

The funding for the 25 homes promised to be built by the Appalachia Service Project early this year after the Gatlinburg wildfire is in, the homes are being built and the company is looking ahead to what’s next.

Gatlinburg’s Sugarlands Distilling Company is donating $30,000 to the project, money that will be split evenly for six homes, filling in funding gaps and finishing the guaranteed portion of fundraising for the projects, said Walter Crouch, president and CEO of Appalachia Service Project.

The company works to eradicate substandard housing in Central Appalachia and to make homes warmer, safer and drier for families in need. In recent years they have built 50 homes in flood-ravaged West Virginia.

Crouch said the ASP estimated each home would cost $50,000, but that number didn't cover the additional $5,000 of overhead costs it takes to build the homes. Sugarlands' donation helps close the gap for the remaining projects.

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Walter Crouch, President of the Appalachian Service Project, speaks during the house dedication ceremony for Glenna Ogle, who lost her home during the November 28 wildfires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee on Friday, July 28, 2017. The home is the first of 25 homes to be built for fire victims by Appalachia Service Project.(Photo: Calvin Mattheis, Knoxville News Sentinel)

Crouch said the company will push hard to have the 25 homes completed by mid-2018, well within the 18-24 month window he estimated at the beginning of the campaign.

He said the group is well aware of the area’s lack of affordable housing and would look to help find solutions for those people moving forward.

“It completes the picture for us,” Crouch said. “This enables us to look towards the first 25 and (see) it’s fully funded. Now we can do another five to 10 more homes if the need is there.

“The issue is low-income families and seasonal workers’ housing are still big issues,” he said. “We’re committed … we will stay as long as there is a need and there is funding to build.”

Sugarlands’ donation

The $30,000 from Sugarlands comes from excess funds they raised in their "Smokies Strong" campaign, which raised money for wildfire victims, specifically five of their employees who lost their homes. The company took donations and sold "Smokies Strong" items at the store and online.

The company will be actively helping to build the six homes their money helped finance, Sugarlands’ spokesperson, Ashley McCloud, said.

“We’re actually building the homes. Every other month we’ll pick a service day and we’ll take the day and volunteer to help build the homes,” she said. “It’s hands-on work with the project, not just donating money.”